ALLENTOWN, Pa. – An Allentown man is facing charges related to videos depicting sexual child abuse.
Matthew Francis, 29, is charged with felony counts of sexual abuse of children and related charges, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a media release.
On Sept. 4, Pennsylvania State Police received two tips from the National Center for Exploited Children that videos depicting child sexual abuse material had been uploaded.
The videos had been uploaded using an IP address that investigators traced to Francis’ apartment in the unit block of North Seventh Street, the DA’s office said. Investigators also identified and traced the phone number uploading the files to Francis.
One video included a child approximately 10-13 years old being raped by an adult male, investigators reported. A second video included a child approximately 5-10 years old being sexually abused by an adult male. A third video included two children approximately 11-14 years old engaged in oral sex with each other.
Francis’ apartment was searched Friday by Allentown and Pennsylvania State Police. On his cell phone, investigators say they found at least two additional videos depicting child sex abuse material.
Francis works for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as the “manager of fun,” but a representative with the Phantoms says Francis has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation. The representative says the Phantoms takes the allegations seriously, and the alleged conduct is not representative of the Phantoms organization and what it stands for.
Francis was taken into custody at the time of Friday’s search, and he was arraigned. He is at Lehigh County Jail with bail set at $100,000. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 18.